StephenK

I need to get new tires for my 01 S500. Curious about what tires others are using and get any recommendations.

Vader55

I have ran many tires. I have ran Dunlop SP9000'S,< very noisy) NITTO 555'S and Current TOYO TR1'S and I must say that the TOYOS rock and they are less then the NITTO'S !! which I also like alot and by the the way TOYO and NITTO are the same manufacturer. The TOYO TR1 is a brand new very aggressive tread design and has a more rounded track better suited for bigger meats on dropped rides for less rubbing issuses,It is a *** great tire ! Best by far for the $... The Nitto has a more square track and has been around for long while and is great. You cannot go wrong with Toyo or Nitto and you will save alot of cash for other mods on your S ? If you have a High performance SL OR CL OR E55 Than the Michelin PS2 might be worth a look but you will never catch me blowing twice the amount on something that is not even close to being twice as good period.

AMG&AMG

Michelin primacy will give you comfort and great handling...

Skylaw

You will find a tremendous amount of information on the Tire Rack's website at http://www.tirerack.com - selection criteria factoring in what you want from a tire, the usage, your car - and independent reviews of the tires.

Once you narrow the choices down, e-mail Luke for final assistance. The resource is tremendous - spend some time browsing. What they have there is amazing, but you may have to spend a little time to get to it.

Jayhawk

Excellent recommendation (The Tire Rack)! I recently spent a lot of time and did a lot of research on wheels & tires. I was leaning toward Michelins for summer tires and Bridgestone Blizzaks for winter tires. But before ordering I called Luke. He strongly recommended that I consider Goodyear Eagle F1s for summer, instead of the more expensive Michelins; and told me not to get the more expensive Blizzaks for my '00/S500 because the ESP system did not like them. Apparently, the ESP would see them as spinning when they were not, and make driving in snow very difficult. He recommended Micheline X-Ice for this car. Overall, he saved me a lot of money and got me the best tires. They were delivered to my installer in 36 hours and installed two hours later. All-in-all a very satisfactory deal!

After you spend some time narrowing your choices on TTR site, call Luke.

BTW: The F1s turned out to be the best tires I have ever had. He recommended I get 18" staggard instead of the OEM 16". The car looks and handles like a dream. Haven't put the X-Ices on yet, but expect a good winter driving experience--for the first time in six winters.

Edison_Chen

Looks like my OEM 16" Continnentals are running out of tread.

What do you guyz recommend for replacing the All Season 16" Continnentals with??

Jayhawk

I put a set of Micheline X-Ice tires on my OEM 16" wheels for winter, and I put a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 tires on 18" AMG double-spoke staggard wheels for summer. Have never been happier!

naijaman

I roll on 19" AMG wheels, and Pirelli P Zero Assimmetrico tires. The downside to the Pirellis is that they are expensive ($300 each), and the upside is that they are quiet and the car is smooth as silk.

Lucky for me I don't pull out the Benz during my daily commute (rolling to work daily with my 1990 Camry), so the tires last long as I only drive the car on weekends.

Skylaw

I was very happy with Michelin MXV4s; at the time, the Pilot Sport A/S wasn't available in that size. Luke@Tire Rack says the problem Pilots Sports were recalled long ago.

My wife even had pilot Sport A/S on her Lincoln Town Car and loved them.

Jayhawk

I wanted Pilot Sport A/S tires for my S500, but Luke talked me out of them and into Goodyear Eagle F1 tires (many relative advantages), and I could not be happier!

Skylaw

I would like to hear the relative advantages - not to refute what you say (I'm not a tire expert, by a long shot) - but for my own education.

I note that you use separate tires for the summer/winter seasons. All-season tires are a compromise, and there are tires in every manufacturer's line that are optimized for certain conditions that may do better during those conditions. Did your use of different tires for the seasons factor into Luke's recommendation?

My own usage (especially in Florida) doesn't require snow tires, but must contend with light snow (in DC) and heavy rain (in Florida). An all-season tire is the best compromise under those circumstances.

Jayhawk

Most of the reasons can be seen in this (click URL below) side-by-side comparison. The Eagle F1 is superior to the Micheline A/S in every category, and especially strong in factors I stressed as important to me. I don't think the decision had anything to do w/ the fact I wanted seasonal tires. I was simply tired of compromising--slipping and sliding in winter and rain, lousy handling and noise in summer. You might want to consider not compromising and getting a really good set of tires for your climate. I think you would be surprised how well the F1s handle in rain, and I am told, even in light snow. They are fantastic tires in every respect that is important to me! Another good reason for selecting the F1s over the A/S was cost: $194.00 for the F1s and $251.00 for the "Best Selling" A/S. Check it out:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar..._445HR8CH95_=4

Skylaw

Thanks, Ramp - I'll check it out. The link you sent had expired, but I can reconstruct the comparison. How do you find the balance? I have always found it difficult to keep Continentals in balance, needed lots of weight at times - but very easy to keep Michelins balanced; have rarely needed more than 1/4 oz on them, and then not more than 1/2.

Had good experience with Eagle GTs some years ago, but ONLY in dry conditions; not too great in rain, and simply awful in snow. They had to carry a lot of weight for balance.

Having reconstructed the page now, I see that the F1s have a slight edge in most categories, but no rating at all in snow, where the Pilot Sport A/S has a very good rating in snow that is significantly bettered only by dedicated snow tires. The track test results are mixed between the two - with the Michelins more precise and responsive in steering than the F-1s. The factors I had emphasized as important were traction both wet & dry, and in snow, and excellent steering response. I also do not plan to use dedicated summer and winter tires - so the Michelins came out really well in the comparisons. Plus the price diffference (when i just checked) was about $15 per tire.

I really can't optimize for my part of the country, because I live in two parts with very different conditions, and drive between the two when the weather is very dissimilar.

Just goes to show, the way you intend to use the tires is a pretty important set of factors - and the Tire Rack's site is great in helping to identify tires that meet your own driving criteria, then to do comparisons.

Jayhawk

Never had a balance problem w/ these tires. Can't understand why a properly balanced tire would go out of balance unless they hit a curb or deep pothole. In fact, I love the way the balance them at TTRack. The weights are on the back of the wheels. Hope you do go to TTR and reconstruct the side-by-side comparison. It is very revealing.

Edison_Chen

Has anybody heard of Michelins Hydro Edge?

I'm probably leaning towards the Michelin's MXV4 Engery Plus